Rhumbline Advisers Acquires 15,151 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 791,706 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 15,151 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.19% of Ventas worth $46,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 2.1% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Ventas by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 3.7% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its holdings in Ventas by 4.5% in the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 5,434 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.08. 2,113,929 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,555,563. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61. The stock has a market cap of $28.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 347.79, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $60.20 and its 200 day moving average is $61.90.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 947.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Ventas Profile

Ventas Inc NYSE: VTR is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.